Editing Numidia (section)

==History==

=== Background ===
The Numidians were a nomadic tribal people who inhabited North Africa, specifically the regions that now form northern Algeria and western Tunisia, during the final three centuries of the first millennium BC. Their lands bordered the Carthaginian hinterlands in eastern Tunisia to the east, the territory of the Mauri tribes to the west, and the Saharan edge occupied by the Gaetulians to the south. 

By the time of the [[Second Punic War]] in 218 BC, the previously scattered Numidian tribes had consolidated into two great and rival tribal groups: the [[Massylii]] in eastern Numidia, and the [[Masaesyli]] in the west. During the first part of the Second Punic War, the eastern Massylii, under their king [[Gala (King of the Massylii)|Gala]], were allied with Carthage, while the western Masaesyli, under king [[Syphax]], were allied with Rome. The Kingdom of Masaesyli under Syphax extended from the Moulouya river to Oued Rhumel.<ref>{{Cite book |last=UNESCO |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WGUz01yBumEC&dq=masaesyli+kingdom&pg=PA289 |title=History of Humanity: From the Seventh Century B.C. to the Seventh Century A.D. |date=1996-12-31 |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |isbn=978-92-3-102812-0 |language=en}}</ref> The Romans worked hard to cultivate Syphax's friendship, and helped to train his troops in the techniques of infantry warfare. 

Syphax initially defeated Gala, but Gala’s son Masinissa, raised in Carthage, rallied forces and defeated Syphax twice by 212 BC, forcing him to flee. Masinissa then joined the Carthaginian general [[Hasdrubal Barca]] in Spain, where he played a key role in Carthaginian victories against Rome. After Gala’s death, Carthage stripped Masinissa’s family of their lands, prompting him to ally with Rome. Returning to Africa, he initially partnered with Syphax against Carthage. However, Hasdrubal married his daughter [[Sophonisba]] to Syphax, securing his loyalty to Carthage. Syphax defeated Masinissa twice in 205 BC, forcing him to retreat into the mountains, where he waged a guerrilla campaign, eluding capture and eventually joining forces with Scipio’s Roman army. In 204 BC, the Roman general [[Scipio Africanus]] landed in Africa with Roman forces, joined by Masinissa, whose tactical brilliance became evident when he helped destroy a combined Carthaginian-Numidian camp and later defeated Syphax and Hasdrubal at the [[Battle of Cirta]] in 203 BC. Masinissa captured Syphax and married Sophonisba, but Scipio, wary of her Carthaginian loyalty, demanded her surrender. To avoid enslavement, Sophonisba took poison, dying in 203 BC.

=== Establishment and apogee ===
[[Image:GM Massinissa.png|thumb|upright|[[Masinissa]] (c. 240-148 BC), first king of Numidia]]
Masinissa regained his father's kingdom, and also took control of much of Syphax's territory. The Second Punic War ended with a Roman victory at the [[battle of Zama]] in 202 BC, and Masinissa of the Massylii consolidated his position as the first king of a united Numidia with enthusiastic Roman patronage.<ref name="EB1911" /> The Romans were determined to keep a powerful ally in Africa to prevent the Carthaginians from threatening their hard-won hegemony in the western Mediterranean.[[File:Egypt,_Rome,_Carthage_and_Numidia.jpg|thumb|Numidia (in blue) at its largest extent after capturing Syphax in Tingitania and vassalizing Bokkar.<ref name="Bokkar2">Historical Dictionary of Morocco Aomar Boum, Thomas K. Park Rowman & Littlefield</ref> surrounding Carthage (Yellow) and neighboring Ptolemaic Egypt (deep purple) and the Roman Republic (Red)]]

Massinissa, constantly encroaching on the territory left to the Carthaginians, had, by 158 BC, conquered Lepcis Magna and the Tripolitanian coast, bringing under his authority all the Berber tribes established between [[Cyrenaica]] and the [[Rhumel River|Ampsaga River]]. Masinissa's territory extended from the [[Mulucha River|Mulucha river]] to the boundary of the Carthaginian territory, and also southeast as far as [[Cyrenaica]] to the [[Gulf of Sidra|gulf of Sirte]], so that Numidia entirely surrounded Carthage ([[Appian]], ''Punica'', 106) except towards the sea.<ref name=":6">[https://books.google.com/books?id=glgzDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA111 Historical Dictionary of Morocco]
Aomar Boum, Thomas K. Park
Rowman & Littlefield</ref> Furthermore, after the capture of Syphax the king of the Masaesyli (West Algeria) with his capital based in [[Siga]]<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Abed |first=Bakhta Moukraenta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GNoWswEACAAJ |title=Les villes de l'Algérie antique Tome I: Au travers des sources arabes du Moyen Âge (Province de la Maurétanie Césarienne) |date=2015 |publisher=Presses Académiques Francophones |isbn=978-3-8381-7852-3 |pages=226 |language=fr}}</ref> and after losing Siga had relocated to a temporary capital in Tinga, Bokkar, had become a vassal of Massinissa.<ref name=":0">[https://books.google.com/books?id=nS1FAAAAYAAJ&q=il+devint+le+vassal+de+Massinissa Villes et tribus du Maroc: documents et renseignements, Volume 7]
Morocco. Direction des affaires indigènes: “Les rois indigènes . Bokkar . Au début du troisième siècle avant JésusChrist , le Maroc obéissait à Bokkar , qui résidait à Tanger , capitale du royaume , et qui était un lieutenant du roi de Numidie Syphax. En 202 avant Jésus - Christ , après la capture de Syphax , il devint le vassal de Massinissa”
H. Champion</ref><ref name=":1">[https://books.google.com/books?id=rmUcAAAAMAAJ&q=bokkar+vassal+massinissa Histoire du Maroc]
Coissac de Chavrebière
Payot: “ La guerre tourna à l'avantage de Massinissa , allié des Romains . Syphax fut fait prisonnier ( 202 ) et Bokkar devint le vassal du vainqueur . « Massinissa , dit St. Gsell , rêvà d'être pour la civilisation punique ce que le Macédonien...”</ref><ref name=":2">[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TYMAQAAIAAJ&q=bokkar+vassal+massinissa Le Maroc]
Prosper Ricard
Hachette: “En 202 avant J.-C. , elle était la résidence , disent les Anciens , de Bokkar , roi du Maroc , lieutenant de Syphax le numide , vassal de Massinissa . En 105 avant J.-C. , Bokkus [ er , allié de Sylla , livre aux Romains son gendre”</ref> Massinissa had also penetrated as far south beyond the Atlas to the [[Gaetuli]] and [[Fezzan]] was part of his domain.<ref name=":4">[https://books.google.com/books?id=XlxMAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA127 Histoire des Romains depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à la fin du règne des Antonins: Depuis les Gracques jusqu'à la fin du règne de Claude]. Victor Duruy. Hachette et cie</ref><ref name=":5">[https://books.google.com/books?id=yecDAQAAIAAJ&q=massinissa <nowiki>Storia della Libia dai tempi piu' [i.e. più] remoti ad oggi: compendio</nowiki>]. Muḥammad Masʻūd Fushaykah. Stabilimento poligrafico editoriale Maggi.</ref>

Settled in Cirta, where he surrounded himself with the refinements of Greek and Roman civilizations, Masinissa disciplined his Berbers and trained them in agricultural work. Carthage, complaining about Massinissa’s encroachments as he had taken control of most of the emporia or African ports, thereby ruining its trade, appealed to Rome, which sent commissioners to investigate the grievances on-site. Among these envoys was [[Cato the Elder|Marcus Cato]], who, upon observing the rapid recovery of Carthage, whose fleet and army had been rebuilt, advocated for the destruction of the Punic metropolis. He concluded all his reports and speeches with the words: “Moreover, I think [[Carthago delenda est|Carthage must be destroyed]].” 

Rome, seeking a pretext for further intervention, found one when Massinissa attacked the Punic city of Oroscopa. Hasdrubal, leading a force of 30,000 men to relieve the city, was decisively defeated by Gulussa, Massinissa’s son, in 150 BC. Learning that Carthage had waged war against a prince allied with Rome, the Romans dispatched an army of 80,000 men to Africa. In 146 BC Carthage was [[Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)|obliterated]] by the armies of Consul [[Scipio Aemilianus]] in what is known as the [[Third Punic War]]. The victors reduced Carthage’s territory to a Roman province, which they named the “[[Africa (Roman province)|Province of Africa]].”[[File:Cherchell_Neopunic_inscriptions_(141).jpg|thumb|Marble with [[Punic]] inscription mentioning king [[Micipsa]] found in [[Caesarea in Mauretania|Iol]].|left]]Masinissa ruled for 55 years until his death in 148 BC, shortly before Rome’s destruction of Carthage in 146 BC. [[Micipsa]] succeeded him, reigning for another 30 years. The three sons of Massinissa jointly ruled Numidia, under  Roman oversight. At the request of Masinissa, Scipio Aemilianus arranged a division of Masinissa's kingdom and inheritance. Micipsa managed the palace and the [[treasury]] in Cira, [[Gulussa]] was given command of the Numidian army and [[Mastanabal]] was appointed chief Judicial authority in the kingdom. On the death of his two brothers in 145 BC, Micipsa, finding himself sole heir to the kingdom of Massinissa, reigned in Cirta, with the help of his two sons [[Adherbal (king of Numidia)|Adherbal]] and [[Hiempsal I]], and his nephew [[Jugurtha]], son of his brother Manastabal.

Under Masinissa and his son Micipsa, Numidia flourished. During this era of stability, Numidia advanced significantly. Settled agriculture expanded alongside traditional pastoralism, towns grew more urbanized, and trade flourished through access to former Carthaginian ports. The kingdom maintained Roman favor by supplying grain and military auxiliaries, including cavalry, infantry, and elephants. The Numidian kings tried to involve themselves in the Greek-dominated [[Hellenistic culture]] of the eastern Mediterranean. In their coin portraits, Masinissa and Micipsa often wore a diadem, a white [[ribbon]] tied around the head and recognized as a Hellenistic symbol of monarchy. They financed the construction of Greek-style buildings in their cities, and one of Masinissa's sons even competed in the [[Panathenaic Games]].

===War with Rome===
{{main|Jugurthine War}}

[[File:Augusto Müller - Jugurta.jpg|alt=Half naked kneeling man in chains|thumb|''Jugurtha'', by <bdi>[[August Müller (orientalist)|Augusto Müller]]</bdi> (1815–1883). [[Museu Nacional de Belas Artes]].]]
When Micipsa died in 118 BC, he was succeeded jointly by his two sons Hiempsal I and Adherbal and Jugurtha, who was very popular among the Numidians. Hiempsal and Jugurtha quarrelled immediately after the death of Micipsa.<ref>[[Sallust]] (c. 40 BCE), ''Jugurthine War'' XI–XIII.</ref> Jugurtha orchestrated the assassination of his cousin Hiempsal and expelled his other cousin, Adherbal, from Cirta. Adherbal fled to Rome to seek the Senate’s protection. However, Jugurtha had already bribed influential Romans, prompting the Senate to divide Numidia in 114 BCE: western Numidia was given to Jugurtha, while Adherbal retained the eastern portion. Jugurtha, having married the daughter of [[Bocchus I|Bocchus]], king of the western Mauri, amassed a large army and invaded Adherbal’s territory in 112 BC. Adherbal retreated to Cirta, where he endured a two-year siege. Starving, he surrendered, but Jugurtha executed him along with many Italians living in the city. Summoned before the Senate for this act, Jugurtha escaped punishment by bribing senators. Before leaving Rome, he assassinated Massiva, the son of Gulussa, who had lodged complaints against him. As he departed, Jugurtha famously declared, “O venal city, doomed to perish if it finds a buyer!” 

Determined to end Jugurtha’s defiance, Rome sent the [[Aulus Postumius Albinus (consul 99 BC)|propraetor Aulus]] against him in 109 BCE. However, Aulus was [[Battle of Suthul|ambushed near Suthul]] and forced to pass under the yoke with his soldiers. Consul [[Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus|Metellus]] then took command, leading an [[Battle of the Muthul|indecisive battle]] against Jugurtha’s forces near Theveste but later being compelled to [[Battle of Zama (109 BC)|retreat near Zama]] in 108 BCE. In 107 BCE, after regrouping, Metellus invaded Numidia, pushing Jugurtha’s Berber forces into retreat and capturing Cirta. Jugurtha fled to the Gaetulians and sought aid from Bocchus. Metellus was recalled and replaced by Consul [[Gaius Marius|Marius]], who led an army of 50,000 men. Marius [[Second Battle of Cirta|defeated the combined forces of Jugurtha]] and Bocchus near Sitifis after a three-day battle and returned to Cirta. Bocchus sought peace and, at the urging of Marius’s lieutenant [[Sulla]], betrayed Jugurtha. Luring his son-in-law into his camp, Bocchus handed Jugurtha over to the Romans in 106 BCE. On January 1, 104 BCE, Marius celebrated a triumph in Rome, with the captured Jugurtha paraded in chains. That same evening, Jugurtha was thrown into the Tullianum prison,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Telford |first=Lynda |title=Sulla: A Dictator Reconsidered |publisher=Pen and Sword |year=2014 |isbn=9781473834507}}</ref> where he soon died from cold and starvation.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Connolly |first1=Peter |title=The Hutchinson Dictionary of Ancient and Medieval Warfare |last2=Gillingham |first2=John |last3=Lazenby |first3=George |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=9781135936747 |pages=171}}</ref>

===Divided kingdom===
[[File:Roman Africa.JPG|thumb|Northern Africa under Roman rule: ''Africa'' (purple), ''Numidia'' (blue), ''Mauretania'' (green)]]

After the death of Jugurtha, western Numidia, which was now called Mauretania, was added to the lands of Bocchus I.<ref name="EB1911" />  Meanwhile, Gauda, another son of Manastabal who had remained loyal to Rome, was granted central Numidia. After Gauda’s death shortly thereafter, his sons [[Hiempsal II]] and [[Hiarbas (king)|Hiarbas]] divided their father’s kingdom, ruling under Roman supervision. These Numidian and Mauretanian kings, as Roman protégés, frequently traveled to Rome, where their children were often educated and held as hostages to ensure their loyalty. Fluent in Latin and living according to Roman customs, they supported the arts, beautified their cities in Roman style, and developed their lands, which supplied Italy with a variety of agricultural products. Italians were also settled in fertile regions of Berber lands, often on lands confiscated from the indigenous population. This contributed to the increasing Romanization of North Africa. 

The kings of Numidia and Mauretania often took advantage of Roman internal conflicts to settle their own disputes. During the [[Sulla's civil war|civil war]] between Marius and Sulla, Marius, exiled by Sulla, sought refuge with Hiarbas, while Hiempsal II supported the dictator Sulla in 88 BC. Hiarbas, with the help of Marius’s supporters, defeated his brother Hiempsal and seized his kingdom. To counter Hiarbas and the Marian faction he had revived in Africa, Sulla sent [[Pompey|Gnaeus Pompey]] with six [[Roman legion|legions]]. Bocchus supported Pompey’s forces with a large contingent of Mauretanian cavalry commanded by Gauda, the son of his son [[Bogud]]. Hiarbas, defeated by Pompey and besieged in [[Bulla Regia]], was eventually forced to surrender to Gauda and was executed after enduring severe torture. Hiempsal II regained his kingdom and was granted Hiarbas’s former territory in 81 BC. Around the same time, Bocchus died, and Mauretania was divided between his two sons: [[Bocchus II]], who ruled the eastern part of the kingdom with the old Punic city of [[Iol]] as his capital, and Bogud, who inherited the western part with [[Tingi]] as its center.

=== Roman civil war and the end of the Numidian Kingdom ===
[[File:Juba i.jpg|thumb|upright|Roman marble bust of [[Juba I]] from [[Cherchell]], Algeria. [[Louvre|Louvre Museum]]]][[Juba I of Numidia|Juba]], succeeding his father Hiempsal II in 50 BC, sought to take advantage of the civil war between [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] and [[Pompey]] to free himself from Roman control. From the city of Hippo, which he made his capital, he rallied exiles who helped him organize his native troops effectively. After Caesar took Italy from the Senate’s faction, [[Publius Attius Varus|Attius Varus]], a lieutenant of Pompey and leader of the senatorial army, proclaimed his general’s authority in Africa and allied with Juba. Together, they defeated the army of [[Gaius Scribonius Curio (tribune 50 BC)|Gaius Scribonius Curio]], Caesar’s lieutenant, at the [[Battle of the Bagradas (49 BC)|Battle of the Bagradas]] in July 49 BC. Following Pompey’s orders, Varus blocked African ports to halt shipments of goods, leading to famine in Italy, where even slaves began to starve. However, an agreement was reached between the rival leaders, who, realizing the need to avoid depopulating Italy, eventually neutralized the food embargo.

After the [[Alexandrian war|Alexandrian War]] in [[Ptolemaic egypt]] ended favorably for Caesar. He installed [[Cleopatra]] as queen of Egypt, who bore him a son, [[Caesarion]], and moved on to suppress a revolt in Armenia. He famously summarized this brief campaign, known as the [[Pontic War]], with the words: “[[Veni, vidi, vici|I came, I saw, I conquered]].” The remnants of Pompey’s forces, having regrouped in Africa under Varus, were joined by [[Titus Labienus|Labienus]] (a former lieutenant of Caesar), [[Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio|Metellus Scipio]] (Pompey’s father-in-law), [[Afranius]], [[Porcius Cato]], and Gnaeus Pompey. With Juba’s support and his Berber troops, the republican army held off Caesar, forcing him to launch a new campaign against them. 

From Rome, Caesar negotiated with [[Publius Sittius]], a Campanian adventurer commanding a small army of Italians, Gauls, Spaniards, and Berbers in Africa. Promising Bocchus II and Bogud portions of Juba’s territory if they supported him, Caesar landed near Hadrumetum in November 47 BC. Initially outnumbered, with only 5,000 soldiers against his opponents’ 60,000, Caesar failed to take Hadrumetum but gained the allegiance of [[Ruspina]] and Leptis Parva. Meanwhile, his quaestor Sallustius Crispus captured the Cercina Islands, a key supply base for Pompey’s forces. Sittius captured Cirta, threatening Juba’s rear and forcing him to divert forces to deal with the insurgent Gaetulians. Reinforced with 30,000 men at Ruspina, Caesar besieged [[Thapsus]]. On February 6, 46 BC, he decisively defeated the allied forces attempting to relieve the city. Juba, attempting to reach [[Zama Regia|Zama-Regia]], found its gates closed and was killed by a slave as Caesar entered the city in triumph. Scipio, cornered by Sittius’s sailors in the Gulf of Hippo, stabbed himself and drowned.

Victorious, Caesar sent Juba I’s son to Rome, where he was educated in Roman culture and loyalty to its power. Caesar annexed eastern Numidia into the Roman province of Africa Nova, appointing his lieutenant Sallustius Crispus as governor. Sallust exploited the province, amassing wealth under the pretext of punishing it for supporting Pompey. Bocchus II was granted additional territory in [[Mauretania Sitifensis]], while Bogud received western Numidia. Sittius, made legate, was awarded Cirta and its dependencies, taken from Masanasses, an ally of Juba. The surviving republican leaders fled to Spain, where Caesar, reinforced by Berber contingents under Bogud, defeated the Pompeian forces at Munda the following year. This marked the end of significant resistance to Caesar. Eastern Numidia was annexed in 46 BC to create a new Roman province, [[Africa Nova]]. Western Numidia was also annexed as part of the province Africa Nova after the death of its last king, [[Arabio]], in 40 BC, and subsequently the province (except of western Numidia) was united with province [[Africa Vetus]] by Emperor [[Caesar Augustus|Augustus]] in 25 BC, to create the new province [[Africa Proconsularis]]. During the brief period (30–25 BC) [[Juba II]] (son of [[Juba I]]) ruled as a client king of Numidia on the territory of former province Africa Nova.